In Schools We Tweet - Harnessing Twitter - Roseanne Sessa


Terri Harings

Model Lesson- Is posted on the ISTE Ning and has been tweeted out as a link
Twitter in Plain English- Youtube
Created a CLASS Account ex: 8th grade science, one account, share password with students (how/why?)
Followed scientists- Looking for scientists to follow
Allow students to follow and connect information they want to9
Twitter - Media Literacy - ex: BP oil spill, BP tweets had different "perspective" and unique tweets
Many social media sites- age of 13 to use it, but any age if teacher monitored?

Lesson:

Google Roseanne Sessa (google teacher's name)- show them that everything is in MY name and positive and said to please NOT ruin my reputation online
Google own name
Digital Footprint - (Could use Common Sense Media to teach lesson as well)
Don't hide - be a positive presence
Work on your footprint - be proud and make it healthy

THIS IS September--Get started right away!

1-Students view our Twitter account: (not yet signed in) Look around and discuss who has been tweeting, who the account shows now......if it is BLACK, the person typed it, if it is RED, it is a link and could be pictures, etc

2-Our Tweets- Look at our tweets, and NO last names, only first names,show history (class record)--NOONE tweets for about two weeks without showing me first,
one use: article, surveys (Google docs) about science/social studies

3-Links, Videos, and Pics (Twitpic)- in red, you can delete something but TRUST, Kids create Youtube videos, then tweeted to get feedback. They must sign their name.

4-Who we Follow- Never follow personal students, but allow students to follow their "interests" - must be content connected, find someone who interests you--looking for someone interesting, teacher checks to see that they don't follow someone weird

5-Allow them.,....to...Get lost---Allow them to just get used to using Twitter, follow #unique and people, etc...Sense of how it is organized, how to follow, how to write, the purpose. This can be a week or two. Noone adds or follow until approved in classroom. ONE FULL week getting their feet under them, then once a week to lab. (Then later Diigo to help them organize themselves)

*Multiple users can sign in on the same account!!!
First 5 or 10 can just sign in, later users must authenticate (weird letters to prove not a robot).
Then have students, once in, looking at hashtags # of interest. Follow, not linear.

MODEL - Where do we start?
NPR, New York Times, World Press - You can go to any science, health, social studies.
Ex: World Press, you can show what other countries' perspectives are.

Find an article that you think is interesting, and TWEET it--must be worthy of tweeting. Copy link, go back to Twitter page, Compose a tweet, this is interesting because..... and end with a hypen and first name (-Terri). Spend time tweeting and then add hashtags: #science, environment, braiun, energy ecology, climate, health
etc....
Right now using for: interesting, gathering sources, networking or personal conversation, tweeting experience of good information, sharing work, finding experts, media literacy

Not everything they find is TRUE. Ex: high fructose corn syrup or BP oil spill - Evaluating media perspectives of stories

THEN, introduce Hootsuite, or Tweetdeck and show that it is nice to see three different hashtags at the same time. Show and look at it together, modeling your own examples. They can put in of their own personal interests. (Tweetdeck does need to be downloaded onto the computer)

What is an "educated" student?**
  • a learner
  • connected beyond the classroom
  • finds and appeeciates multiple perspectives
  • evaluates sources
  • personal learning leads to empathy
  • develops individual ideas/theories
  • participates in the larger conversation